Cotton picker spindle



April ,19 A. PARADISE 2,504,723

COTTON PICKER SPINDLE Filed Aug. 28, 1948 FIG. I

INVENTOR. L.A. PAPAD/SE ATTOP EKYS I 2 fiatenteci Apr. 1 8,

COTTON PICKER SPINDLE Louis A. Paradise, Rock Island, 111., assignor to Deere & Company, Moline, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application August 28, 1948, Serial No. 46,685

This invention relates to improvements in cotton picker spindles for mechanical cotton pickers, particularly cotton pickers of the type in which a plurality of rotating barbed spindles are introduced into the plants to remove the cotton therefrom.

A typical cotton picker of the type referred to comprises a drum or assembly having a plurality of Vertical picker bars from each of which a pluralit of rotatable picker spindles extend horizontally. Each spindle is elongated and is rotatable about its principal axis, being provided with teeth or barbs to engage the cotton. The spindfes rotate at a relatively high speed and the cotton is wrapped around the spindles, after which the spindles are withdrawn from the plants and caused to move through doffing mechanism which doifs or wipes the cotton therefrom. The usual doffing mechanism includes a plurality of dofl'ers, equal in number to the number of spindles on each picker bar, and each dofier comprises a generally circular plate having appropriate cottonremoving means thereon, such as rubber pads or brushes or a combination of both.

A large part of the efiiciency of any mechanical cotton picker of the type referred to depends upon the picking capacity of the spindles and'the ability of the spindles to be easily doifed- :Qne of the factors affecting the picking eficiencyiand dofiability of a spindle is the disposition ofthe teeth on the spindles. Other factors are the shape of the teeth, the inclination or angularity of the teeth and the relationship of the teethj to untoothed portions of the spindle. In general, a

suitable spindle will have an elongated conical &

body rotatable about its principal axis and having this axis arranged at such an angle to the horizontal that the elements of the cone will be caused to pass through the horizontal plane in which the associated doifer rotates. If the spindle is cylindrical rather than conical, its axis of rotation may be horizontaL'whereupon the elements of the cylindrical surface will rotate through said horizontal plane. In either case, the arrangement is such as to facilitate mounting of the doifers for rotation about a vertical axis. In a typical design of tapered or conical spindle, the periphery of the spindle is provided with alternate flutes and lands running lengthwise of the spindle, the lands being curved portions on the conical surface of the spindle and the flutes being relieved or flattened so that they lie radially inwardly of the lands. The teeth ar provided on the flutes and project generally radially therefrom and have their points on'or within the coni- 14 Claims. (Cl. 56--50) cal surface continued through the lands. The teeth may be inclined or undercut somewhat in the direction of rotation of the spindle, for the purpose of rendering the teeth more aggressive in the engaging of cotton. The teeth may further be inclined toward the tapered end or apex of the spindle, for the purpose of facilitating doiiing, since the spindles pass beneath the dofi rs in a path in which the row of teeth is substantially tangent to a circle formed about the axis of rotation of the doifers. From the foregoing, it will be seen that the design of an efficient picker spindle involves several considerations and that variations in the teeth to increase or decrease picking aggressiveness thereof may easily affect the dofiing charac-' teristics thereof. In spindles heretofore known, the picking teeth have been arranged in a row that lies on a straight line coincident with the lengthwise center line of the flute. Such arrange ment gives the maximum length of teeth as measured radially from the surface of the flute to the peripheral surface that includes the lands. The disposition of the teeth along the lengthwise cen-, ter line of the flute places the points of the teeth equidistant from the edges or sides of the flute gdisoining the lands that are separated by that According to the present invention, it is a principal object to arrange the teeth in a row that is non-parallel or non-coincident with the lengthwise center line of the flute, thereby positioning certain of the teeth at progressively increasing distances from one side of the flute that adjoins the land at that side, the linealong which said flute adjoins said land constituting a leading edge as respects the direction of rotation of the spindle. Thus there is achieved an increase in the ability of the teeth to pick cotton, which increase does not detract from the doifing characteristics of the spindle. In the case of a tapered or conical spindle, the flute will be accordingly tapered and the non-coincidence of the row of teeth with respect to the lengthwise center line of the flute will increase the non-parallelism of the row of teeth with respect to the leading edge of the flute and will bring the row of teeth in parallelism with or more nearly in parallelism with the trailing edge of the flute, which edge is formed by the junction between the trailing side of the flute and the succeeding land. The importance of the arrangement of the teeth with respect to the lands is brought out by the fact that the lands are at greater radial distances from the rotating axis of the spindle than are the flutes, so that, during r0;

' 1 Figure surface portions" the alternat lat e flutes F rt'n ebw th P AA. In the spindle illustrated, therev are three u 7 3 tation of the spindle, the lands. have a tendency to brush the cotton aside. If the interval betweenthe leading edge of the flute and the tooth is increased, there is an increased space for the increased.

Another object of the inventic'iii is to pfc'ii id an Accordlar requirements. Under other conditions and in other circumstances, the'spindle could well have a greater or smaller number of lands and flutes. Similarly, the flutes need not be flat but could have other surfaces, such as the concave surface of the spindle shown in the United States patent to Morava 1,668,247.

The flutes and lands run lengthwiseof the periphei 'al. surface of thespindle 'aiid; inasmuch as the spindle tapers from its base to its tip,

' the flutes and lands likewise taper accordingly.

Each is therefore wider at its base end than at its' tip end. If the spindle were cylindrical,

- or more nearly cylindrical than shown, the sides improved spindle construction in which theteeth.

are formed on a ridge extending lengthwise of the, flute. Spindles of this type are ordinarily.

n iis ed byj griiidhg and it is esired that transteeth-does not result in gr ir'iding the flute. surface itself, it being impor'tant that all exposed surfaces except the points. ef the'teeth be kept The foregoing t e other iniportantohjctsand "rable features inherent in, and encompassed ieised in the art as a complete disclosure is made of a. preferred embodiment of theinvention in the. following detailed. escription and accome t improved. splndlepthsclaleiof thfdrawing' b'ihg' substantially twice; that of an actual fii d i iiiwtaken substantially oh the line 21-,3or Fig: ure i Figur 3 is attansverse sectional View taken on the line 3+; or Fig iirie 1 and Eigure 4 is a trafisveise" sectional iew t ke 911' the line. 4-4'o'f Figure 1, F gu es 2, 3 and e inie' dtewn to a scale subst ntially twice that Qt r 1 e 'he' spindle shown comprises an elongated body of conical shape, designated generally by the e te whih tifii a sB to a tip '1. 'rhespma'ie is mounted in any, apprqpr nner at its beseei a for} fete fiia bout -'ittidiziai or principal axis; i

t e t etttet t 't d it e...

peripheral surface of the spindle-igg vided with a plurality'of peripheral orentern l IT e lands and three flutes SO, that in erosjs sectional e pe re ce, as in Figures 2', 3 and kthespindle bo f as generally the @Qf of; a egular poly qng formed about the axis Aifk and'haviii g sides pr iiid ed by. the flutes F.v and rounded corners pro;

vided bythe'lands' Thelands he onthe con-i F cal suriac' of the spindlei stated otherwise'and coii sid'ring the spindle in-cr os s sectiom t ds: L are an edible circumscribi ng theipgly formed about the axis {is indicate {ire the ante; are radially; inward time on which the lands, he andghei a flutes are, in efiect, chords of crcle 1 It should be understood thetith j shingles 111s titted is of a; general type hating its, st ee t r characteristics determined. accordiiigto p rt.

grinding or the flute po tion topriovide the:

he inventienwillbecbine. apparent to those 2 is an enlarged transverse. sectional and to a depth determine do'not mar the hat, surface t t ete {or the edges of thefflutes and lands would'be parallel or more, nearly parallel. The manner i which the flutes and lands are formed is relatitely' immaterial. In a preferred. process, the spindle would be rough-finished to substantially its desired conical shape and peripheral portions hem? wou d b re iev T s by r n n to P 9 vide the flutes, allowirig for the p picking means on each flute compr U I of picking teeth P. The teeth aifiii a r w along a line formed by arel atively low ridge. R; which projects a slight distancefor example, .QQ4 inch-:from a flute F, The pickin teeth are preferably formed; by 'g'r i' d r d e e i as e' imits defin we the. eeth o that the ra n w best'showh n igures 2 3 4, e th' x e 'e r' y fd illy ,q tw it fr the. par i u te sothet i sp i t 6 Q wi in the circle that includes 'tf land L. Thus,

' the'circle referred to determines the height 611 m' rom an xam na o rit'u at the'ir leading edges, as atu wm 1 us spindle in stra't'et H t/1 r ference to he,

ex t invention, thev ridge, 3 on whih the f is of slight; degree,

ind m e 1 ith teeth Ap afl s' ith .ewifie Show the direction, ofrtit tion r, the particular,

rection of rotation, each flute F adjoins one. land L m a leading edge and aajoinse followin land iii a trailing edge TE. n the iris tan cfeill f1}; tr'ate'd, each edge. lies substantially along a.

e straight line and the. edges co verge 'fiforn Base to, tip of the spindle, The; lfingthwise center. In;

of'the. flute' is included m plane passe d iengtj wise through the spindle and inchiding the J of rotation AA. In other f'foi'ds, atjany selected point tithethe lengthwise center th of t e flute F, the leading e ge an the trailing e ge, @if Q d mm ,1 .51 thfifiifik? 11 .1

In spindlesv of prior constructions, the w mi ti eet et; this h t centerline oi the fi te. According to th pre of ce i of the te: st nt? t e r 1'. h ase @119} fhel eind s ti e the trailing side. of th lengthwise the flute a'ndthe outermost or ti flute. This arrangement an be,

Asis customary thfte eth P fn' be. 1i

th r. as 5- Qniy in the dire to tip, the angle of inclination being preferably approximately forty-five degrees.

As shown in Figure 3, at the particular section illustrated, the teeth in the plane of that section, designated at P have their points substantially coincident with the longitudinal center lines of the respective flutes. Hence, the drawings emphasize the intersection of the line of the teeth with the plane through and including the axis of rotation AA and the lengthwise center line of the particular flute.

The illustration in Figure 1 brings out that the row of teeth is clearly in pronounced non-parallelism with the leading edge LE, whereas therow of teeth is substantially or more nearly in parallelism with the trailing edge TE. In other words, the row of teeth is substantially equidistant from the trailing edge TE throughout its length, whereas the teeth are disposed at progressively increasing distances from the leading edge LE as measured circumferentially (or transverse to the axis AA) from LE to P, this distance increasing from the tip to the base of the spindle. As will be apparent from Figure 2, the disposition of the tooth P behind the lengthwise center line of the flute F increases the distance between the point of that tooth and the leading edge LE. Thus, the arrangement increases the space between the land and the row of teeth so that the entryfof cotton into the path of the teeth is facilitated; that is to say, the time interval between engagement of the land with the cotton and engagement of the teeth with the cotton is increased and there is minimized or eliminated entirely the possibility that the land will engage the cotton in such manner as to brush it completely out of the path of the teeth. The relationship of the tooth P to the leading edge LE, for example, is brought out to varying degrees throughout the length of the row of teeth, although this factor disappears as the row of teeth cross the center line of the flute. However, as the teeth progress toward the tip of the spindle, the land L tapers in the same direction, so that the surface of the land at the tip end of the spindle is considerably smaller than the land surface at the base of the spindle. Hence, the effect of the land at the tip end of the spindle is not as pronounced as at the base end of the spindle. Therefore, the teeth toward the tip end of the spindle can be brought more closely to the longitudinal center line of the flute and thereby increase the height of the teeth. This will be apparent upon recalling that the height of the teeth is determined by the circlewhich includes the lands, and further from the fact that the optimum greatest height of tooth is directly on the plane that includes the'axis of rotation AA and the lengthwise center line of the flute.

The application of the principles of the invention is not limited to a spindle of the tapered type, nor to a spindle having flat flutes. As mentioned above, any number of lands and flutes may be used; likewise, the flutes may be of any configuration; and it is contemplated that the principles of the invention will be readily applicable to a spindle of the type in which the flutes are spirally arranged, as in the U. S. patent to Johnston, 2,292,945. In that case, the row of teeth is symmetrical with the edges of a particular flute and hence would not have the characteristics set forth herein. However, in view of the instant disclosure, the suggested modifications will be obvious.

Various other-features and desirable characinwardly of said circle; and a row of picking teristics not specifically enumerated above will undoubtedly occur to those skilled in the art, as

will various modifications and alterations in the detailed design illustrated, all of which may be accomplished without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A cotton picker spindle comprising an elongated tapered body generally in the form of a; cone rotatable about its principal axis and having its periphery formed with a, plurality of alternate lands and flutes running generally length wise of the body and tapering from base to tip of the cone and spaced circumferentially about said axis so that the body in cross section is generally in the form of a regular polygon with the lands providing rounded corners thereon and lying on a circle that is formed about said principal axis and that circumscribes the polygon, the flutes representing chords of said circle and being therefore disposed radially inwardly of said circle, each flute adjoining adjacent lands at each side thereof in substantially straight lines that converge generally lengthwise of the body from base to tip, one line providing a leading edge and the other a trailing edge as respects the direction of rotation of the spindle; and a, plurality of rows of picking teeth on the body, one row for each flute, each row lying along a substantially straight line inclining lengthwise and circumferentially away from the respective leading edge so as to be convergent with the said leading edge and generally parallelto the respective trailing edge.

2. A cotton picker spindle comprising an elongated body rotatable about its principal axis and having its periphery provided with a plurality of portions running lengthwise thereof, one of said portions constituting a flute and other portions constituting lands, one land being disposed at each side of and adjoining the flute and arranged so that in a cross-section of the body the land portions lie on a circle about said principal axis of the body and the flute is radially teeth on the body arranged in a line that runs generally lengthwise along the flute and that is convergent with the-lengthwise center line of 3. A cotton picker spindle comprising an elongated body rotatable about its principal axis and having its periphery provided with a plurality of portions running lengthwise thereof, one of said portions constituting a flute and other portions constituting lands, one land being disposed at each side of and adjoinin the flute and arranged so that in a cross-section of the body the land portions lie on a circle about said principal axis of the body and the flute is radially inwardly of said circle; and a pluralityof picking teeth on the body arranged generally lengthwise along the flute at progressively increasing circumferential distance from the lengthwise center line of the flute from one end of the flute to the other.

4. A cotton picker spindle comprising an elongated body rotatable about its principal axis and having its periphery provided with a plurality of portions running lengthwise thereof. one of said portions constituting a, flute and other pertions constituting lands, one land being disposed at each side of and adjoining the flute and arranged so that in a cross-section of the body the land portions lie on'a circle about said prinof said edges.

of teeth are at'cireliin'fere'ntially greater diseten'ces than other teeth" framing ieiiethwise' centerlineoftheflute. j I

V 5. A cotton picker spindle eonsismge eloneeted body r' tetabie abo tits principal axisand ea w th a" pl irality-- a. w s th r 07 t said-portions ioonst'i tu 1 ga flute and other tioiis constituting lands; one land 7 being disposed" ateaeh side of and adjoiningthe flute and er. riainged so thatin a 'ero'ss-s'ection of the body the lir'r'd portions lie on a cirole tbbiit said pr c pai axis of the body and the, note is radially inwardlyjo'f Said 'ifcie: saidnute being-tapered rid-none end of the v(may to the otlier so that it is Wider in transverse dimensiorrat one end tH" attire other, the jun'otion of tjn'e fliitefat hereof with one laiidportioifi' providing' wis'e' l'eadin'g' edge and the junction of V tits other side with another 1am poi; tion providing a lengthwise filaifiiiiig' ldge a's' spec'tstne direct on or rotat on of the spind e,

said'l'ading' edge andjrafling edge converging from one d or the fifite to the other iaoause of the aioresaid taper on the fititfi; and a plura'iiti 0f .pioki'n'g teeth on theijody arranged generally lengthwise along the note in arow that is para lel to one o'f-said edges and Convergent with the other a. A otton picker semen dampen n enema gated body rotatabie about its principal axis and having its periphery provided) with a plurality of portions runningfiengthwi se thereof one of said portions constituting a 71111133 and 7 other por tions constitutingflands, one land being disposed at'eaqh side of and adjoining the flute and arranged so that in across-section of the body.

the land portions lie on a circle about said principal axis of the bodyand the flute is radially inwardly of said circle {said flute being tapered 'from one endof the body to theother sothat it is-wider in transverse dimension atone end than-at the other,'the. junctionoof the flute; at.

' because'bi" the aforesaid. tapers-0n the flute; and"? a row ai -picking teeth on the body arranged generally lengthwise of the flute in a'line' substantially: uniformly .spaced from said; trailing v edge and progressively increasingly spaced lffomi said'l'ea'difi'g edge: V v V e g 7. A cottonrpiekerspindle comprising afrielon' gated body rotatable: about its'iprinoipal' axis andhaving' its periphery provided Witn,.-a.plu:-

I theimite-aion'gj ody and tli u traiiin'g edge and a can? 153" raIitYnfpOrtiOnsL: running le'i'igtliw'ise.-.tl'iereof I I,

one of said portions constituting a flute arid;- other portions 'cons-titutingjands; one lit-11d being disposed at each side ofand' adjo'iningthe flute andarranged-so that 'in a cross seotion' of the body; the land portionsv 'lie' on ;a circle about saidprin'c'ipal axis of the body and the-. i'luteiis radially inwardly of said circle? 'a ridge integral? with and running generally lengthwise, of the fii te'along a; line in. convergent relaition" to the lengthwisevcentrlineof the=fiut'e;aan'd a pIuraiity- J l ried by the ridge and projecting lyg-o'utwardlii thereffoiii -arideiiereilif'cii oumferfi 1y of the body to provide picking points in alignment generally lengthwise of the flute along a line that is parallel to the trailing edge and convergent with the leading edge.

11. A cotton picker spindle comprising an elongated body adapted for rotation about its principal axis and having a plurality of outer surface portions running lengthwise of the body and arranged about said axis and providing a flute flanked on each side by a land; and picking means on the body confined Within the area of the flute and arranged in a line that runs generally lengthwise along the flute and that is convergent with the lengthwise centerline of the flute.

12. A cotton picker spindle comprising an elongated generally conical body rotatable about its principal axis and including a base and a tip and having a plurality of outer surface portions running lengthwise of the body and arranged about said axis and providing a flute flanked at each side by a land, the sides of said flute converging from base to tip generally in accord with the conical shape of the body; and picking means carried by and confined within the area of the flute substantially along a line that runs lengthwise of the flute and that is convergent with the lengthwise centerline of the flute.

13. A cotton picker spindle comprising an elongated body adapted for rotation about its principal axis and having a plurality of outer surface portions running lengthwise of the body and arranged about said axis and. providing a flute flanked on each side by a land; and picking means on the body confined within the area of the flute and arranged in a line that runs generally lengthwise along the flute and that intersects the lengthwise centerline of the flute.

14. A cotton picker spindle comprising an elongated body rotatable about its principal axis and having its periphery provided with a plurality of portions running lengthwise thereof, one of said portions constituting a flute and other portions constituting lands, one land being disposed at each side of and adjoining the flute, and arranged so that in a cross-section of the body the land portions lie on a circle about said principal axis of the body and the flute is radially inwardly of said circle; and a row of picking teeth on the body arranged in a line that runs generally lengthwise along the flute and that intersects the lengthwise centerline of the flute.

LOUIS A. PARADISE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 908,638 Appleby Jan. 5, 1909 Barbknecht July 21, 1942 

